Browse by Label: VAKANT (GERMANY)

Artist:	KADEN & ONUR OZER, MATHIAS
Title:	Momentum: A Vakant Mix Compilation
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	VA 001CD

"It's been a busy couple of years for Berlin's Vakant label. Kicking off in October 2004 with Alex Smoke's Simple Things EP, Vakant has gone to strength to strength, releasing a tightly curated set of records from new talents (Onur Özer, Tolga Fidan) and old hands (Robag Wruhme, Mathias Kaden) alike, as well as launching the remix sub-label Vakant R and the audiovisual division VX. Now, with pieces of vinyl safely under its belt, Vakant invites the turntable-impaired to join in the fun with the release of Momentum, the label's first CD. Not simply a compilation of hits, Momentum recreates the feel of Vakant's infamous parties at Berlin's Watergate club with a seamless mix of 14 of the label's most propulsive tracks, expertly blended by Mathias Kaden and Onur Özer."

Artist:	OZER, ONUR
Title:	Kasmir
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	VA 002CD

"The debut album for both, Onur and Vakant, Kasmir presents the musical world Onur was surrounded by, from the mystical Arabesque and Turkish art music, to the deep synthetic pulses that come through the drivers of some of the world's biggest sound systems on which he plays. On this full length listening experience, Onur and Vakant come together again each uniquely expressing the style they have become known for as staples of expanding and far reaching club sounds. Kasmir is a vivid mind melt of intersecting thoughts and movements in synergy, venting from a sweltering ancient yet modern melting pot. With this album, Onur has funneled the currents that have shaped his hometown together into one truly exceptional torrent."

Artist:	DINKY
Title:	May Be Later
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	VA 003CD

This is Dinky's third album and her first full-length release on Vakant, after the Move In EP (VA 020EP). Dinky has brought with her a welcome infusion of freshness and bloom to the otherwise dank locker room. May Be Later, like the artist, is the prototypical combination of beauty and brawn. Dinky's long journey began in her native Chile, growing up playing piano and experimenting with modern dance and choreography. As a teen, she listened to artists as diverse as Brian Eno to Prince, before finding electronic music from Plastikman, Aphex Twin, and Carl Craig in the mid-'90s. She made lifelong connections in the Santiago scene with Ricardo Villalobos, Dandy Jack, and Luciano, and was soon sharing stages with them. In the late '90s, Dinky moved from Santiago to New York City to join the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance and was also introduced to American house, the evolution of techno, and parties like Body and Soul, NASA raves, and Twilo. Soon, at 23 and armed only with an MPC 2000, her original productions began. Dancing during the day, she was making a name for herself as a DJ by night, eventually hosting regular underground parties with Magda until she was forced to leave the States for Berlin due to post-9/11 visa restrictions. With her new home came chart-topping productions, mega-club residencies, live performances, and international recognition. May Be Later bridges sound and mood from the summery and sublime to the dark and throbbing. While "Mars Cello" floats and warms, "Burdelia" chugs somewhere between Chicago and early NYC house. "Fade Me In" zips along with furious kink and dubious vox by Dinky's longtime friend Jorge González. "Seven 2 Seven," when aimed at 8am Berlin ravers, massive freakouts ensue. "She Is Moving" features minimal vocalist extraordinaire Big Bully, attaining a vital equilibrium of naughty and nice. The album closes with "Mind," an electronic fusion -- moving, looming, eerie, and reassuring. This album shows Alejandra Iglesias' development, exposing the paths, connections and influences that brought her here. The beach, NYC underground in all its flavors, Berlin, the stage, Detroit, electronic waves from all directions, Chicago, mega-clubs... it's all here and it's all her own.

Artist:	ALEX SMOKE
Title:	Ring.Click.Tink. EP
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	VA 003EP

2005 release in stock for the first time. Glasgow's minimal madman Alex Smoke returns to Vakant with five brand new blasts of schizoid techno -- his darkest work so far. "You're A Bit Rough" is a venomous, gnarling beast which will guzzle the dancefloor. Next, "Horizon" is a crispy minimal killer with crunchy percussion and scuzzy melodies. "Gypo" is another sleazy, mutant hunk of subterranean filth, and "Neds" is a compelling mind-fuck that twists and throbs throughout. This is Alex Smoke at his most sinister and deadly.

Artist:	KADEN, MATHIAS
Title:	Studio 10
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	VA 004CD

This is the debut full-length release by Gera/Jena, Germany-based minimalist, Mathias Kaden. About 2 years in the making, Studio 10 takes Mathias Kaden's life-long work as DJ and producer, worldwide tours, 20-something years of listening and thinking, machines and people, and wraps a bow around it all. Always taking his time with production, Mathias' focus on quality over quantity continues to pay dividends, no matter the state of the economy. Unique in many ways, Studio 10 is also unique for the producer himself. Never before has Mathias incorporated into his music so much hardware, field recordings, messages, and invited friends and orchestral musicians to collaborate. Each track has a message waiting to be interpreted, from the first track "Intro Ducing," borrowing from Bob Marley, to the aptly-named "1981" (featuring vocals by Gjaezon), significant in that it was the year of birth for the most important and timeless instrument in Mathias' studio, the TR808. Similar to his Vakant brethren, Mathias is the instrumentalist and performer, rather than the programmer and sampler. A Fender Rhodes from jazz pal Lars Mäurer on "Defender," Mathias's 1970s Lowrey organ played by Florian Schirmacher on "Lowrey," violin by Claudia Ander-Donathand on "Re Menor," and flugelhorn by Martin Rudloff on "Panic Stricken," all pull and push the music in ever-expanding directions, but at the center, the 808 welds it all together. In addition, vocalists (and lyricists) Ian Simmonds, Gjaezon, and Tomomi Ukumori impart their talents to help articulate the messages that pervade Studio 10. To call the album house is akin to referring to a 1982 Château Lafite-Rothschild as wine. Closer to Chicago than to anywhere else in sound and in Mathias' heart, Studio 10 finds its home in more intimate settings where its nuance, ideas, and depth can all come shining through.

Artist:	ALEX SMOKE
Title:	Shwingnut EP
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	VA 006-1EP

First of a 2-part single. "Here Alex opts for advanced tricky rhythms to deliver three superior slices of reduced funk. 'Serious Like Plague' comes on like a schizoid Sleep Archive release, dense, moody and guaranteed to infect the dancefloor. Following on the flip is the sub-aquatic 'What Can I Say.' This erratic mind-melt bubbles with a tripped out groove. Concluding the EP is the raw and discordant 'Wingnut' -- a spangled classic from his live set."

Artist:	ALEX SMOKE
Title:	Shminimal EP
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	VA 006-2EP

Companion release to VA 006-1EP (Shwingnut. "The following release is the Shminimal EP. With this twelve Alex really explores the parameters of his unique sound and delivers three club killers. The EP begins with the anthemic 'Titti,' here he builds a relentless, driving groove with a penetrating bassline and scuzzy melody. Next is 'TV Is Pish' a demented discoid cut-up that freaks irresistibly. The pulsing 'Slippers & Slappers' growls this superb EP to its conclusion."

Artist:	FIDAN, TOLGA
Title:	Now I'm Weak EP
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	VA 009EP

"Pop a Dramamine, slap a patch behind your ear, and grab ahold of the railing, because Tolga Fidan's debut EP Now I'm Weak lurches like a dinghy on the high seas. (Might as well throw on a slicker, too, because you're gonna get wet.) You haven't heard a synth swell as seasick as the one on 'Abstract Prologues' since Motiivi:Tuntematon's sinking tanker of a track, '1939.' But as woozily as this 12" rolls, it never loses its grip on the floor: all three tracks are solidly grounded in the blunt, toe-stubbing funk that's become a trademark of Berlin's Vakant label, home to mega-talents of minimal like Alex Smoke, Mathias Kaden, Onur Özer, and Robag Wruhme."

Artist:	QUIXOTE
Title:	Pap and Fickle EP
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	VA 010EP

"Vakant returns with a new chapter of scuzzy techno from Alex Smoke under his new Quixote guise. Alex Smoke has had a phenomenal year so far with the release of his Paradolia album on Soma. For his Vakant productions he has opted to record under the Quixote pseudonym as his output for the two labels has naturally developed in different directions. For Vakant he has always explored the darker aspects of his sound and the Quixote productions will represent this."

Artist:	KADEN, MATHIAS
Title:	Synkope EP
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	VA 011EP

"The Synkope EP ushers in a new sound for Mathias, one that is more full and less percussive than before yet also one that will not leave previous fans in the dark. Taking his cue from his keen knowledge of the world's dancefloors, Kaden translates this awareness straight onto vinyl without losing sight of today's complex sequences and sound structures. With the flood of faceless releases that threaten to sink even the most discerning record buyer these days. There is a growing sense of urgency to make records that will remain classic and listenable even 10 years into the future. If you don't mind us saying we think this might just be one..."

Artist:	ALEX SMOKE
Title:	Hanged Man
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	VA 013EP

"The Hanged Man EP spans the current avant-garde of electronic dance freakishness. The A-side attempts to contain 'It's a Carni Life,' a deep 10-minute motivator placed somewhere between 'Space Odyssey' and 'I Need Lithium.' 'Hanged Man' on the flip presents a more straightforward digital funk ordeal hinting at, but dares not say acid. Finally 'Rotwang,' named after the mad scientist out of Fritz Lang's Metropolis, makes you wonder if someone had transported you to your favorite summer festival at exactly the right moment without you noticing."

Artist:	DINKY
Title:	Move In EP
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	VA 020EP

"The delectable Chilean mistress Dinky has infiltrated the Vakant Berlin Boys Tec Team (VBBTT). A welcome infusion of sweet freshness has filled the otherwise dank locker room and the boyz will never be the same. Don't be misled, it's not all rosewater and kittens. This girl is packin' guns. Not only does Dinky bring us the next Vakant EP, but an album coming this fall as well, her third. The long road that brought Ms. Iglesias from Chile to NYC to Berlin to a mega dancefloor near you is happily bumpin' along, parked here currently at the Vakant robo trucker park of wonder and her own spot Horizontal. A side 'She is Moving' features L.A. minimal funk vocalist turned Brooklynite Dawson Bacca a.k.a. Big Bully. Together they attain that vital equilibrium of naughty and nice: synthy klinky funky and soulful-y. Flip side reveals a funk of a different sort. 'Da 20s' is a dryer pursuit of the bounce, just as motivationally effective but got Sunday summer afternoon written all over it. Can you feel the sun? Mmmmm warm and Dinky."

Artist:	DEWALTA
Title:	Salgaro/Farina
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	VA 021EP

"Like a proper immigrant family enjoying the life of culturally greener pastures, the Vakant family continues to grow in Berlin. Closely following the exponential trend of mergers and acquisitions in the Multi National Corpo Borg, Vakant Heavy Industries signs the third in a series of new talent to the team. Berlin's DeWalta a.k.a. David Koch, long time friend of Vakant, has completed assimilation into the freaky fold. David comes from that lofty echelon of actual musicians, having finished his degree in jazz and classically trained in piano and saxophone. He also runs his own label Meander with two friends. We don't know exactly where this 23-year-old youngin' came from but who cares, the tracks on his debut Vakant EP hit you on the bootay like a studded fraternity hazing paddle on hell week. There aren't even words we can find to describe the bass presence on this record."

Artist:	KADEN, MATHIAS
Title:	Moron/Shetani
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	VA 023EP

Mathias Kaden returns to Vakant with this double A-side EP. Moron presents us with Mathias' continuously evolving huff and puff, heave and ho, badonkadonk sound. Like the rest of his work, "Moron" is a fusion of his diverse influences -- African, Latin, and modern German rhythms move the wallflower to the middle of the dancefloor. "Shetani" encompasses so much in 9 minutes -- choir, jazz sax and hovering pads -- that all one can do is hold their hands aloft.

Artist:	PURMAN, NICO
Title:	Euphrasia EP
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	VA 025EP

Argentinian Nico Purman presents his second EP on Vakant. "Euphrasia" is your very own space mission trip minus the rocket. Nico's got the ascension covered here, complete with drama and aerospace wizardry. "My Own Band" is like a bunch of inebriated astronauts complete with hydroponics and atomizers. Space is indeed fun and full of love and melody. "Da Roots" proves that there are Africans in space, and they have probably spent a considerable amount of time in Chicago.

Artist:	FIDAN & ANTHONY COLLINS, TOLGA
Title:	Violente/La Cadence
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	VA 026EP

Vakant youngblood experimentalist Tolga Fidan has teamed up with fellow Parisian Anthony Collins to craft an EP of corpulent proportions. "Violente" evokes Max Roach hanging out with Larry Levan in modern day Berlin clubland, Obi-Wan hologram-style. Pianos and strings finish things off buttery smooth. "La Cadence" thumps it out in all the ways that feel good: good like doughnuts, jazz, bikinis, Latin percussion, and stars. Fidan and Collins bring it all together, complete with live and personal interludes.

Artist:	PATUA
Title:	Macaista/Chapado
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	VA 029EP

The Vakant label presents a rare find from the southeast Asian jungle -- Patuá. Lured in by some animal crackers and a 1989 Game Boy, Patuá presents this double A-side. Apparently, house is big everywhere, and the smooth and warm "Macaista" reaches out to the remaining Patuás of this world and says, "I am here, do not fret." "Chapado" is quite cheeky, thick and space-y -- the Patuán mating call to all the remaining tribe members earthbound and beyond.

Artist:	DEWALTA
Title:	Nightshade EP
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	VA 031EP

Dewalta aka David Koch returns to Vakant with more popping, earnest house. "Move Yo" sits as close to late 1990s Baby Ford as one can get without a time machine and a personal guide to London's underground. "Nightshade" keeps the house-y goosebumps going with a drier and more direct approach. Cheeky bleeps and chunky bass balance dark, space-y vocals. "Angels Trumpet" features melodic elements that push and pull you in multiple directions, resulting in dancefloor catharsis.

Artist:	PURMAN, NICO
Title:	Rhapsodies
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	VA 032EP

Nico Purman drops 3 large-and-in-charge space-jazz masterpieces that he fermented in what sounds like a mid-'90s New York house basement. "Why What" slowly moves uptown landing at the Blue Note where Rollins, Monk, and Roach sit in on the session. "Funk Forest" features popping percussion blended with Rhodes while a diva whispers in your ear until late-'70s Herbie Hancock shows up with his synth. "Chamomile" is moody, peaking with futuro baritone sax and piano in unison. Smooth and steady.

Artist:	FIDAN, TOLGA
Title:	Gaijin
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	VA 033EP

Tolga Fidan brings 2 full sides of the most expansive mind and body-moving music you'll find outside of a gypsy circle on Jupiter. If techno has a jazz-fusion subgenre, "Gaijin" is it, making Tolga Chick Corea with a strobe light. "Gaijin" goes to space while sporting an afro and a 15-piece avant-garde jazz band. "Drunk Rotations" applies an icy piano. A horn section appears, along with a modular synth and Theremin; however, you never lose the jack on this cosmic dancefloor.

Artist:	VA
Title:	Family Values EP
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	VA 034EP

Vakant is ready to present a 12" Family Values EP. Mathias Kaden offers a 2010 edit of his first-ever solo release "Circle Pit," followed by DeWalta's deep yet bouncing "Stringer Bell" string experience. On the flip, you'll find Nico Purman's "Xpress Yourself," which lands somewhere between Rick James and François K, followed by Alex Smoke's freaky "I-73 Night" which, to quote Tolga Fidan, is "A reminder of how dance music should have been if it hadn't gone generic."

Artist:	LIVIO & ROBY
Title:	Moduri EP
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	VA 035EP

Vakant presents Romanian stars Livio & Roby, the first new artists to join the label since 2008. After cutting their teeth on some of the biggest labels and world stages, Livio & Roby impart their deep, funk-laden grooves on their first record for the perfectionist House of Vakant. "Hatzumoto Song" is deeply organic yet firmly routed in tech funk, floating effortlessly across time and dimension. "Moduri" rides a classic upbeat/downbeat house rhythm while strange synths carry a smile-inducing body motivation.

Artist:	FIDAN, TOLGA
Title:	We're Strangers Now
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	2x12"
Price:	$21.00
Catalog #:	VA 037LP

"I'm listening to these six tracks again to try to make an approximation of why and how I have done this EP. Okay so, the opening track is in a way the end of an era and the last one the opening of a fresher one. And the rest fills in the gaps in between those two moments, I guess. I hate conceptual things, anyways. Includes collaborations with Jaw (dOP), my brother Atilla, who is also responsible for the artwork, and Jonny Cruz." --Tolga Fidan

Artist:	MARCHESE, CESARE
Title:	Aether EP
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	VA 038EP

Vakant welcomes the man formally known as Cesare vs. Disorder, for the first time releasing under his given name Cesare Marchese. Yet another formally-trained musician in the Vakant camp, Cesare's music has progressed with more and more depth and melody. While just a 4-track EP, the Aether EP covers much ground, spanning after-hour afternoons to indie-influenced incorrigibility, but always with that certain kink and freak that comes from a background of techno and global-trotting night-life revelry.

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Artist:	ZENKER, DARIO
Title:	Would Be Nice EP
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	VA 027EP

Artist:	WRUHME, ROBAG
Title:	Abusus Adde
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	VA 028EP

Artist:	ANONYM
Title:	Flivvers Vol. 1
Label:	VAKANT (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	VA 040EP